RESEARCH ARTICLE


Association Between STAT4 rs7574865 Polymorphism and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Debate Unresolved



Iman Tarakji1, *, Wafa Habbal2, Fawza Monem1, 2
1 Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria
2 Clinical Laboratories Department, Al-Assad Hospital, Damascus University, P.O. Box 10769, Damascus, Syria


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Creative Commons License
© 2018 Tarakji et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Damascus University, Damascus’ Syria, Tel: +963-988 387 367, E-mail: imantarakji@gmail.com


Abstract

Background:

STAT4 rs7574865 polymorphism has been evidently associated with susceptibility to Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in European and Eastern Asian populations, whereas studies in other countries reported otherwise.

Objective:

We investigated the distribution of STAT4 rs7574865 polymorphism in a group of Syrian RA patients.

Methods:

Eighty-one RA patients and forty healthy controls were enrolled and STAT4 rs7574865 was genotyped by direct sequencing. RA patients were stratified according to Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibodies (ACPA) status for analysis.

Results:

Minor T allele frequencies were 30.4%, 16.7%, and 23.8% in ACPA-positive RA patients, ACPA-negative RA patients, and healthy controls, respectively. No significant differences in STAT4 rs7574865 allele/genotype frequencies were found between ACPA-positive RA patients, ACPA-negative RA patients, and healthy controls (P>0.05).

Conclusion:

STAT4 rs7574865 TT genotype showed a potential impact on ACPA positivity in Syrian RA patients. However, STAT4 rs7574865 effect on RA onset and severity is minor compared to other genetic factors such as HLA-DRB1 shared epitope alleles.

Keywords: : STAT4 rs7574865, Rheumatoid arthritis, Syria, ACPA, SNP, MHC.